Helping people get ‘onboard’ with automated vehicle use
Mobility is accelerating towards a new digital era of communication. Cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM) will transform people into users of a shared fleet of vehicles connected to each other and the transport infrastructure. It will reduce congestion, accidents and environmental impact while enhancing inclusivity for those who cannot drive or are underserved by public transport. Until recently, research focused on the technologies underpinning the mobility revolution, largely in the context of road traffic. However, without public trust, acceptance and willingness to adopt these technologies, their potential benefits will not be realised. The ambitious EU-funded DriveToTheFuture project set out to address this key challenge. It developed human-machine interface (HMI) concepts and training programmes, analysed users’ perceptions and emotions, and proposed policy guidelines and roadmaps to enhance awareness, trust, acceptance and, ultimately, adoption.
A focus on HMI technologies and CCAM training
“DriveToTheFuture developed principles for effective, persuasive and trusted HMIs, strategies for interaction with other traffic participants and algorithms to predict users’ emotional responses. These were optimised via 12 pilots in 9 countries addressing all transportation modes (road, rail, maritime and air/drones) and with the participation of over 2 400 people,” explains project coordinator Evangelia Gaitanidou of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Hellenic Institute of Transport (CERTH/HIT). Outcomes from the pilots supported the creation of an HMI development toolkit that will allow developers to prototype, demonstrate and evaluate HMI concepts for automated vehicles. Moreover, an extension of the European Statement of Principles on HMI for automated vehicles was proposed. Training is an important requirement for trust and acceptance as well as for the safe and effective use of CCAM technologies. DriveToTheFuture designed 18 training programmes for drivers, passengers and operators covering all transport modes. These were optimised through the pilots, and selected programmes were integrated into an e-learning platform.
The people speak: hesitation, trust, acceptance and willingness to adopt
DriveToTheFuture analysed people’s thoughts and perceptions regarding CCAM via pilot results, a survey (over 11 500 participants) and a social media sentiment analysis (over 100 000 posts analysed). Lack of knowledge about and experience with CCAM technologies was the most common reason for hesitancy. However, lack of trust, the desire to retain greater vehicle control, (cyber)security fears and safety fears were not far behind. Importantly, the EU is starting from a relatively positive baseline: overall, almost half of participants/posts expressed a good or very good opinion of automated vehicles. “DriveToTheFuture’s HMIs were considered easy to use and understand, instilling security. In addition, the pilots highlighted the importance of training and hands-on experience in increasing security, confidence, acceptance, trust and willingness to adopt. Personalisation of HMIs and training for factors like age and tech savviness will have important impact,” adds Gaitanidou. Interestingly, training improved acceptance and willingness to adopt in the maritime pilot but not trust, where concerns about cybersecurity should be addressed.
Multimodal transportation, multifaceted considerations
DriveToTheFuture also investigated ethical, sociocultural, gender, safety, (cyber)security and legal/regulatory issues and employment implications related to automated vehicle deployment. The holistic outcomes informed guidelines and policy recommendations as well as short-, mid- and long-term roadmaps on user acceptance of CCAM covering four transportation modes and multimodal mobility. Together with sister projects SUaaVE, Trustonomy and PAsCAL, DriveToTheFuture will support governments, industry and society in exploiting the full potential of CCAM with users that feel safe, secure and ‘onboard’ with automated vehicles’ use – literally and figuratively.
Keywords
DriveToTheFuture, CCAM, HMI, automated vehicles, transport, transportation, automated mobility, cybersecurity, human-machine interface